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The Baby-Sitters Club Mysteries #1
انگشتر گمشده
کتاب انگشتر گمشده، با داستانی ساده، از دنیای نوجوانان سخن می گوید؛ از خواست ها، نیازها، دلخوشی ها و دل نگرانی هایشان.
کتاب، به گونه ای غیر مستقیم، بر مفاهیم ارزشمندی چون احساس مسئولیت، حفظ حیثیت و آبرو، و حل مشکلات از راه اندیشیدن و تصمیم گیری های مناسب تأکید می کند.
کتاب، به گونه ای غیر مستقیم، بر مفاهیم ارزشمندی چون احساس مسئولیت، حفظ حیثیت و آبرو، و حل مشکلات از راه اندیشیدن و تصمیم گیری های مناسب تأکید می کند.
138 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1991
54 people are currently reading
787 people want to read
About the author
Ann M. Martin
1,101 books3,045 followersAnn Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
March 26, 2022
Oh the BSC mysteries. I only read the first handful of these originally, but it was always exciting to read anything "super" or "chiller" or "mystery" in an already-favorite series.
Stacey is babysitting for a new wealthy client who believes she's stolen a "missing" diamond ring -- a ring that Stacey has been recently asking for. The book is really less mystery and more about how the club deals with the supposed aftermath of their clients not wanting to use them after hearing about the missing diamond.
Lots to unpack. Stacey wishing for a diamond ring at that age is sort of ridiculous, yet somehow relatable. I do remember that kids in later elementary school wanted birthstone jewelry, but I didn't know anyone who had ACTUAL diamonds or emeralds. We all had that fake stuff from Avon etc. If Stacey wanted a diamond bad enough, she could save up for a year with all her BSC money, but instead, it's implied that her divorced parents agree to split the cost. Jeesh.
In the end, the girls realize that only one client heard about the missing ring and *defended* them as good sitters—the rest of their usual families were just having a particularly busy week/on vacation so not using the service. Big DOH for the club.
A cute introduction to the mystery books, but doesn't really live up to the name.
Stacey is babysitting for a new wealthy client who believes she's stolen a "missing" diamond ring -- a ring that Stacey has been recently asking for. The book is really less mystery and more about how the club deals with the supposed aftermath of their clients not wanting to use them after hearing about the missing diamond.
Lots to unpack. Stacey wishing for a diamond ring at that age is sort of ridiculous, yet somehow relatable. I do remember that kids in later elementary school wanted birthstone jewelry, but I didn't know anyone who had ACTUAL diamonds or emeralds. We all had that fake stuff from Avon etc. If Stacey wanted a diamond bad enough, she could save up for a year with all her BSC money, but instead, it's implied that her divorced parents agree to split the cost. Jeesh.
In the end, the girls realize that only one client heard about the missing ring and *defended* them as good sitters—the rest of their usual families were just having a particularly busy week/on vacation so not using the service. Big DOH for the club.
A cute introduction to the mystery books, but doesn't really live up to the name.
November 1, 2010
after several well-received "mysteries" speckled the regular series babysitters club books, apparently scholastic decided to really capitalize on their cash cow & launch a new babysitters club mystery series. they are exactly like regular series books in every way, except that each one involves some kind of mystery plotline & the covers are a dark color as opposed to a pastel. there are references to mystery plotlines mixed in with the regular series books, characters are introduced in the mystery lines that pop up again in the regular series...if you want to keep up with the stoneybrook/BSC world, you unfortunately have to read the mysteries.
not that it's all bad. i do believe my young adult serial novel character boyfriend, cary retlin, is introduced in the mystery series. but not this one.
this is the first of the bunch, & it opens with stacey asking her mother for a birthstone ring. the only catch is that stacey's birthstone is a diamond. so she's asking her mom for a diamond ring. she even has one all picked out at the jewelry shop in town. of course mrs. mcgill balks & tells stacey that a diamond ring is not appropriate for a 13-year-old. bratty stacey pouts & huffs, "dad would get it for me." then ask your dad, dude. mrs. mcgill is all, "remember how you didn't want to put in the middle of my marital issues with your father? then don't cry over how i won't buy you a diamond ring but he would because he's a workaholic who doesn't understand parental boundaries." zing!
stacey is grumpy, so she calls the other members of the babysitters club to invite them to the mall. weirdly, they are all available to hang out. no sitting jobs? it's a saturday morning! & kristy's older brother charlie is even available to drive them to the mall.
the girls have a great time at the mall. my favorite part is when claudia buys a pair of pink sequinned sneakers. i would totally wear pink sequinned sneakers, & i am 31. stacey sees a lovely diamond ring in the window of a jewlery store & tells her friends she wants one. they are all kind of taken aback. apparently they all find diamond rings really appropriate on 13-year-olds. she is upset that no one is in her corner, saying that she deserves a diamond ring & mrs. mcgill is a big meanie for not buying her one.
just as an aside...now that i am an adult, i definitely find diamonds on children (& 13-year-olds are children, regardless of what these books may suggest) extremely inappropriate. i associate diamond rings with marriage, & i don't think people should get married until they are...maybe 32 years old or so. give or take. definitely not when they are thirteen. but when i was a 13-year-old, i was totally indifferent to the concept of a girl my age wearing a diamond. all it indicated to me then was that her family was wealthy, & i didn't really have any feelings about that, besides maybe a touch of jealousy, or maybe a little superiority in thinking that if i had that kind of money, i wouldn't waste it on jewelry. therefore, the reaction of the other members of the BSC to stacey's desire for a ring does strike a false note. it's like an adult's conception of how a 13-year-old feels instead of what a 13-year-old would really feel.
moving on. at the next time babysitters club meeting, the girls get a new client. the gardellas have a baby daughter, & they usually employ a full-time nanny (ie, they're rich). but the nanny is having some family issues & needs some time off. the gardellas, rather than shelling out for a temporary full-time adult caretaker because they are rich, call the BSC because they have heard so many good things about the club. they need a regular sitter for a few weeks, & stacey gets the gig.
on stacey's first job, she is surprised by the understated fanciness of the gardellas' house, which is large, brick, & decorated with columns along the porch & an elegant doorknocker instead of a bell. ie, my dream house, in case i ever end up rich too. mrs. gardella answers the door wearing a very fancy black sheath dress & about nineteen pounds of diamonds. she & mr. gardella are going to a posh fundraising event or something. mrs. gardella mostly gives stacey ludicrously detailed instructions on caring for the pets, a very spoiled cat & a very spoiled dog. the cat eats chicken livers for dinner out of a crystal dish in the middle of the table. i gave my cat a chicken liver once. she tore it to pieces & then threw the pieces at the walls (she throws by hooking her claws into things & whipping them like a baseball pitcher). it was like "saw 4" up in my joint.
finally, mrs. gardella introduced stacey to tara, the baby. she is a very sweet, quiet, well-behaved baby. ie, my dream baby. these gardellas have got it going on, aside from the chicken liver situation. i want this baby for myself. they cuddle the animals & leave.
the job is a cinch. the baby is a sweetheart & the animals are easy to deal with, although they do like attention. mr. gardella gives stacey a nice tip when he drives her home (not in a pervert way).
but the next morning, stacey gets a call from mrs. gardella at 8am. mrs. gardella can't find a diamond ring she had left on her bureau & she asks stacey is perhaps she "borrowed" it. stacey insists that she did not take the ring. mrs. gardella is disappointed & tells stacey that she can't sit for the family anymore, & that she (mrs. gardella) will be informing other BSC clients of the theft. stacey's mom sticks up for her, but mrs. gardella can't imagine where the ring went if stacey didn't pocket it.
stacey is crushed. she calls kristy, who calls an emergency meeting of the babysitters club. the other sitters are shocked that anyone would accuse one of their own of stealing...all except for mary anne, who really does have a black spiteful heart underneath all those waterworks. i think mary anne spier is the reason i am so incredibly distrustful of people who cry at the drop of a hat. i just know they're trying to manipulate me. anyway, mary anne is all, "stacey, you can tell us if you took the ring, it's okay." stacey & all the other sitters are like, "dude, WTF!" & mary anne cries like SHE was the one who was just accused of stealing by one of her best friends. sometimes i really fucking hate mary anne. remember when she encouraged claudia to come clean about cheating on her math test? mary anne is just straight up stank.
anyway. the sitters decide there's not much they can do. they hope their regular clients won't listen to the gardellas, & they all promise not to take jobs with the gardellas, in the event that they call again.
which they don't. & neither does anyone else. the jobs are coming in at barely a trickle. stacey refuses all of them because she feels so bad about getting the club into this fix. jobs are so scarce that claudia has to return her pink sequinned sneakers (sell them to me!). the club doesn't actually have proof that the decline in jobs is due to the gardellas spreading the word about stacey's alleged thievery...but they can't imagine what else is going on.
there's a B plot involving the prezziosos. i don't really remember the details. maybe something about how jenny has a bratty new friend or something. there's also some boring crap about babysitting jobs & a red herring about phantom caller-style jewel thief loose in stoneybrook. the club wonders if perhaps the jewel thief broke into the gardellas' house while stacey was there & absconded with the ring. but obviously they can't prove this either.
basically, the prezziosos' story is only there so there can be a scene where the prezziosos come home early to relieve claudia of sitting duties, & say that it happened because the gardellas told them the BSC are thieves at a fancy dinner party. claudia starts to explain, but mrs. prezzioso clarifies that the accusation ruined her night & she trusts the club.
after this foreshortened job, claudia goes to stacey's & starts casually ransacking her room, looking for the ring. stacey realizes what she's doing & is very hurt, & they fight.
anyway, FINALLY, after doing literally nothing but moping & complaining for the entire book, stacey calls mrs. gardella & offers to sit for free until the cost of the ring is paid off. which is ridiculous. because 1) if mrs. gardella thinks stacey stole the ring, why would she invite her back into her home & within access of other stealables? & b) a diamond ring has gotta be at least a few thousand bucks, right? when i was a teenage babysitter in the early 90s, i got paid $5 an hour. i'd have to babysit for 200 hours to make just $1000. even at the generous pace of maybe 10 hours a week...that's five months. surely the full-time nanny will be back before then?
anyway, mrs. gardella accepts this suggestion so long as stacey brings a friend to keep an eye, make sure those sticky fingers stay off the ice. stacey brings kristy. kristy loves tara & is really amused by the way the gardellas treat their pets. after tara goes to bed, stacey & kristy amuse themselves by playing fetch with the cat. they notice that after a few throws, the cat picks up the object they've been tossing & leaves with it, only to return shortly thereafter without it. they decide to follow the cat. they discover that he has hiding places all over the house, full of twist ties, catnip mice, foil balls, &...a diamond ring! apparently the cat stole the ring off the dresser & hid it under a fancy carpet.
stacey & kristy triumphantly show the gardellas their cat's hiding spot when they get home, complete with ring. the gardellas are very embarrassed & apologetic. stacey says, "thanks, now can you call of the dogs & tell our clients we're not thieves?" mrs. gardella says she only got around to spreading the word to the prezziosos. apparently it was just a coincidence that jobs fell off during this time period. the girls realize that clients have been sick, on vacation, etc, & that no one ever thought they were thieves. what a relief!
but...if i were mrs. gardella, & i honestly thought my teenage babysitter stole my diamond ring, & then she offered to sit for me again & the ring mysteriously re-appeared while she was alone in the house...i would still think she stole it. & that she got freaked out & "returned" it by making it seem like it had been lost. this thought does not appear to cross mrs. gardella's mind.
not that it's all bad. i do believe my young adult serial novel character boyfriend, cary retlin, is introduced in the mystery series. but not this one.
this is the first of the bunch, & it opens with stacey asking her mother for a birthstone ring. the only catch is that stacey's birthstone is a diamond. so she's asking her mom for a diamond ring. she even has one all picked out at the jewelry shop in town. of course mrs. mcgill balks & tells stacey that a diamond ring is not appropriate for a 13-year-old. bratty stacey pouts & huffs, "dad would get it for me." then ask your dad, dude. mrs. mcgill is all, "remember how you didn't want to put in the middle of my marital issues with your father? then don't cry over how i won't buy you a diamond ring but he would because he's a workaholic who doesn't understand parental boundaries." zing!
stacey is grumpy, so she calls the other members of the babysitters club to invite them to the mall. weirdly, they are all available to hang out. no sitting jobs? it's a saturday morning! & kristy's older brother charlie is even available to drive them to the mall.
the girls have a great time at the mall. my favorite part is when claudia buys a pair of pink sequinned sneakers. i would totally wear pink sequinned sneakers, & i am 31. stacey sees a lovely diamond ring in the window of a jewlery store & tells her friends she wants one. they are all kind of taken aback. apparently they all find diamond rings really appropriate on 13-year-olds. she is upset that no one is in her corner, saying that she deserves a diamond ring & mrs. mcgill is a big meanie for not buying her one.
just as an aside...now that i am an adult, i definitely find diamonds on children (& 13-year-olds are children, regardless of what these books may suggest) extremely inappropriate. i associate diamond rings with marriage, & i don't think people should get married until they are...maybe 32 years old or so. give or take. definitely not when they are thirteen. but when i was a 13-year-old, i was totally indifferent to the concept of a girl my age wearing a diamond. all it indicated to me then was that her family was wealthy, & i didn't really have any feelings about that, besides maybe a touch of jealousy, or maybe a little superiority in thinking that if i had that kind of money, i wouldn't waste it on jewelry. therefore, the reaction of the other members of the BSC to stacey's desire for a ring does strike a false note. it's like an adult's conception of how a 13-year-old feels instead of what a 13-year-old would really feel.
moving on. at the next time babysitters club meeting, the girls get a new client. the gardellas have a baby daughter, & they usually employ a full-time nanny (ie, they're rich). but the nanny is having some family issues & needs some time off. the gardellas, rather than shelling out for a temporary full-time adult caretaker because they are rich, call the BSC because they have heard so many good things about the club. they need a regular sitter for a few weeks, & stacey gets the gig.
on stacey's first job, she is surprised by the understated fanciness of the gardellas' house, which is large, brick, & decorated with columns along the porch & an elegant doorknocker instead of a bell. ie, my dream house, in case i ever end up rich too. mrs. gardella answers the door wearing a very fancy black sheath dress & about nineteen pounds of diamonds. she & mr. gardella are going to a posh fundraising event or something. mrs. gardella mostly gives stacey ludicrously detailed instructions on caring for the pets, a very spoiled cat & a very spoiled dog. the cat eats chicken livers for dinner out of a crystal dish in the middle of the table. i gave my cat a chicken liver once. she tore it to pieces & then threw the pieces at the walls (she throws by hooking her claws into things & whipping them like a baseball pitcher). it was like "saw 4" up in my joint.
finally, mrs. gardella introduced stacey to tara, the baby. she is a very sweet, quiet, well-behaved baby. ie, my dream baby. these gardellas have got it going on, aside from the chicken liver situation. i want this baby for myself. they cuddle the animals & leave.
the job is a cinch. the baby is a sweetheart & the animals are easy to deal with, although they do like attention. mr. gardella gives stacey a nice tip when he drives her home (not in a pervert way).
but the next morning, stacey gets a call from mrs. gardella at 8am. mrs. gardella can't find a diamond ring she had left on her bureau & she asks stacey is perhaps she "borrowed" it. stacey insists that she did not take the ring. mrs. gardella is disappointed & tells stacey that she can't sit for the family anymore, & that she (mrs. gardella) will be informing other BSC clients of the theft. stacey's mom sticks up for her, but mrs. gardella can't imagine where the ring went if stacey didn't pocket it.
stacey is crushed. she calls kristy, who calls an emergency meeting of the babysitters club. the other sitters are shocked that anyone would accuse one of their own of stealing...all except for mary anne, who really does have a black spiteful heart underneath all those waterworks. i think mary anne spier is the reason i am so incredibly distrustful of people who cry at the drop of a hat. i just know they're trying to manipulate me. anyway, mary anne is all, "stacey, you can tell us if you took the ring, it's okay." stacey & all the other sitters are like, "dude, WTF!" & mary anne cries like SHE was the one who was just accused of stealing by one of her best friends. sometimes i really fucking hate mary anne. remember when she encouraged claudia to come clean about cheating on her math test? mary anne is just straight up stank.
anyway. the sitters decide there's not much they can do. they hope their regular clients won't listen to the gardellas, & they all promise not to take jobs with the gardellas, in the event that they call again.
which they don't. & neither does anyone else. the jobs are coming in at barely a trickle. stacey refuses all of them because she feels so bad about getting the club into this fix. jobs are so scarce that claudia has to return her pink sequinned sneakers (sell them to me!). the club doesn't actually have proof that the decline in jobs is due to the gardellas spreading the word about stacey's alleged thievery...but they can't imagine what else is going on.
there's a B plot involving the prezziosos. i don't really remember the details. maybe something about how jenny has a bratty new friend or something. there's also some boring crap about babysitting jobs & a red herring about phantom caller-style jewel thief loose in stoneybrook. the club wonders if perhaps the jewel thief broke into the gardellas' house while stacey was there & absconded with the ring. but obviously they can't prove this either.
basically, the prezziosos' story is only there so there can be a scene where the prezziosos come home early to relieve claudia of sitting duties, & say that it happened because the gardellas told them the BSC are thieves at a fancy dinner party. claudia starts to explain, but mrs. prezzioso clarifies that the accusation ruined her night & she trusts the club.
after this foreshortened job, claudia goes to stacey's & starts casually ransacking her room, looking for the ring. stacey realizes what she's doing & is very hurt, & they fight.
anyway, FINALLY, after doing literally nothing but moping & complaining for the entire book, stacey calls mrs. gardella & offers to sit for free until the cost of the ring is paid off. which is ridiculous. because 1) if mrs. gardella thinks stacey stole the ring, why would she invite her back into her home & within access of other stealables? & b) a diamond ring has gotta be at least a few thousand bucks, right? when i was a teenage babysitter in the early 90s, i got paid $5 an hour. i'd have to babysit for 200 hours to make just $1000. even at the generous pace of maybe 10 hours a week...that's five months. surely the full-time nanny will be back before then?
anyway, mrs. gardella accepts this suggestion so long as stacey brings a friend to keep an eye, make sure those sticky fingers stay off the ice. stacey brings kristy. kristy loves tara & is really amused by the way the gardellas treat their pets. after tara goes to bed, stacey & kristy amuse themselves by playing fetch with the cat. they notice that after a few throws, the cat picks up the object they've been tossing & leaves with it, only to return shortly thereafter without it. they decide to follow the cat. they discover that he has hiding places all over the house, full of twist ties, catnip mice, foil balls, &...a diamond ring! apparently the cat stole the ring off the dresser & hid it under a fancy carpet.
stacey & kristy triumphantly show the gardellas their cat's hiding spot when they get home, complete with ring. the gardellas are very embarrassed & apologetic. stacey says, "thanks, now can you call of the dogs & tell our clients we're not thieves?" mrs. gardella says she only got around to spreading the word to the prezziosos. apparently it was just a coincidence that jobs fell off during this time period. the girls realize that clients have been sick, on vacation, etc, & that no one ever thought they were thieves. what a relief!
but...if i were mrs. gardella, & i honestly thought my teenage babysitter stole my diamond ring, & then she offered to sit for me again & the ring mysteriously re-appeared while she was alone in the house...i would still think she stole it. & that she got freaked out & "returned" it by making it seem like it had been lost. this thought does not appear to cross mrs. gardella's mind.
May 1, 2016
this is my first time reading this book!
in this FIRST MYSTERY (!) by ghostwriter Ellen Miles (who wrote a ton of the mysteries), stacey babysits for a new family, the gardellas. the next day, she gets a call from mrs. gardella saying that her fancy schmancy diamond ring that was sitting on her dresser is missing. inconveniently, stacey had JUST been talking about wanting a diamond ring. while mrs. gardella sort of pretends that she wants to believe stacey is innocent, she also says that she's going to have to tell the bsc's other clients that stacey stole from her. ugh. then the bsc goes through a lull and everyone thinks it's because of the missing ring, when really it was a coincidence (all the regular clients were out of town or sick).
highlights:
-stacey's mom had a beehive when she was a teenager! LOL
-when charlie rushes off at the mall and says he's meeting the guys, kristy says, "I bet it's not 'the guys' he's meeting...He seems to be in a real hurry, if you know what I mean." I'm pretty sure we are supposed to infer that he is meeting a girl, but I assume this means he needs to poop.
-dawn loves the t-shirt store. the t-shirt store. that is a thing, apparently.
-there's a chapter where jessi is babysitting her siblings and hears that there's a burglar in their area. she gets super paranoid and some Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls-style antics ensue.
-there's an extremely pointless but mildly entertaining chapter where mary anne is sitting for the prezziosos, and a neighborhood kid, joey conklin, puts the garden hose in the prezziosos' house and turns it on. the thing that's funny about this is that she makes a big deal about him being jackie rodowsky-like (which is inaccurate because jackie never tries to be bad) but I don't think we ever hear about joey conklin ever again! memorable character introduction with no followup.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-stacey is a turd when she asks her mom for a diamond ring. "dad would buy it for me."
-about claudia's new shoes, stacey says, "I knew from looking through that month's magazines that those shoes were past cool." what does that MEAN? past cool?
-the bsc members think it's so funny when there are women in the shoe store claiming to wear size sixes but they end up trying on nine-and-a-halfs. this is such a dumb sexist trope, straight out of married with children. BOO.
-it's weird that stacey wants a diamond ring so badly in the first place. I don't think most 13-year-olds wish they could have diamond rings.
-claudia is a terrible friend in this book. she doesn't believe stacey didn't steal the ring and goes to her house to look through her stuff. also her spelling is worse than usual, semi-unrealistically so.
-the prezziosos go out to a dinner and run into mrs. gardella, who tells them about the missing ring. the prezziosos stick up for stacey but are still upset enough that they go home and relieve claudia from her sitting job early. and they only pay her for the time that she worked. I'm sorry, but seriously? kristy, how have you not come up with a (perfectly reasonable) policy that clients pay for the whole baby-sitting job that sitters were scheduled for?
-tara the baby is young enough to need bottle feeding, but she sits on the couch with kristy and stacey. nope. ellen, have you ever met a baby?
-I would think they wouldn't want to sit for the gardellas in the first place because it's mostly just pet-sitting. I will always think of buffy and pinky mckeever in Kristy's Great Idea (and not the many pets in Jessi Ramsey, Pet-sitter) when I think about bsc members accidentally pet-sitting.
mystery solution:
the gardellas' cat (named mouse) is playful and likes to hide small objects all over the house. he had hidden the diamond ring under the carpet.
claudia outfit:
-"Claud looked terrific in black leggings, red high-top sneakers, and an oversized red sweater. She was carrying a lunch box as a purse."
snacks in claudia's room:
-smartfood popcorn (n.s.)
-twinkies (n.s.)
in this FIRST MYSTERY (!) by ghostwriter Ellen Miles (who wrote a ton of the mysteries), stacey babysits for a new family, the gardellas. the next day, she gets a call from mrs. gardella saying that her fancy schmancy diamond ring that was sitting on her dresser is missing. inconveniently, stacey had JUST been talking about wanting a diamond ring. while mrs. gardella sort of pretends that she wants to believe stacey is innocent, she also says that she's going to have to tell the bsc's other clients that stacey stole from her. ugh. then the bsc goes through a lull and everyone thinks it's because of the missing ring, when really it was a coincidence (all the regular clients were out of town or sick).
highlights:
-stacey's mom had a beehive when she was a teenager! LOL
-when charlie rushes off at the mall and says he's meeting the guys, kristy says, "I bet it's not 'the guys' he's meeting...He seems to be in a real hurry, if you know what I mean." I'm pretty sure we are supposed to infer that he is meeting a girl, but I assume this means he needs to poop.
-dawn loves the t-shirt store. the t-shirt store. that is a thing, apparently.
-there's a chapter where jessi is babysitting her siblings and hears that there's a burglar in their area. she gets super paranoid and some Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls-style antics ensue.
-there's an extremely pointless but mildly entertaining chapter where mary anne is sitting for the prezziosos, and a neighborhood kid, joey conklin, puts the garden hose in the prezziosos' house and turns it on. the thing that's funny about this is that she makes a big deal about him being jackie rodowsky-like (which is inaccurate because jackie never tries to be bad) but I don't think we ever hear about joey conklin ever again! memorable character introduction with no followup.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-stacey is a turd when she asks her mom for a diamond ring. "dad would buy it for me."
-about claudia's new shoes, stacey says, "I knew from looking through that month's magazines that those shoes were past cool." what does that MEAN? past cool?
-the bsc members think it's so funny when there are women in the shoe store claiming to wear size sixes but they end up trying on nine-and-a-halfs. this is such a dumb sexist trope, straight out of married with children. BOO.
-it's weird that stacey wants a diamond ring so badly in the first place. I don't think most 13-year-olds wish they could have diamond rings.
-claudia is a terrible friend in this book. she doesn't believe stacey didn't steal the ring and goes to her house to look through her stuff. also her spelling is worse than usual, semi-unrealistically so.
-the prezziosos go out to a dinner and run into mrs. gardella, who tells them about the missing ring. the prezziosos stick up for stacey but are still upset enough that they go home and relieve claudia from her sitting job early. and they only pay her for the time that she worked. I'm sorry, but seriously? kristy, how have you not come up with a (perfectly reasonable) policy that clients pay for the whole baby-sitting job that sitters were scheduled for?
-tara the baby is young enough to need bottle feeding, but she sits on the couch with kristy and stacey. nope. ellen, have you ever met a baby?
-I would think they wouldn't want to sit for the gardellas in the first place because it's mostly just pet-sitting. I will always think of buffy and pinky mckeever in Kristy's Great Idea (and not the many pets in Jessi Ramsey, Pet-sitter) when I think about bsc members accidentally pet-sitting.
mystery solution:
the gardellas' cat (named mouse) is playful and likes to hide small objects all over the house. he had hidden the diamond ring under the carpet.
claudia outfit:
-"Claud looked terrific in black leggings, red high-top sneakers, and an oversized red sweater. She was carrying a lunch box as a purse."
snacks in claudia's room:
-smartfood popcorn (n.s.)
-twinkies (n.s.)
November 14, 2021
For me, the real mystery of this book is why any of these girls are friends with Claudia. Claudia is the first to turn on someone when she doesn’t get her way, as we saw in New York, New York. She’s at the center of tons of BSC drama that threatens the club's future prospects (see: Claudia and the New Girl and Claudia and the Bad Joke). Claudia herself experienced what it was like to have her integrity called into question in Claudia and the Middle School Mystery, yet she clearly gained ZERO empathy from that. She also doesn’t suspect Stacey as a matter of circumstantial evidence or morals or the club’s reputation—she’s just pissed she can’t buy ugly new shoes. The minute she gets her money right, she’s back to being besties with Stacey.
March 10, 2025
1991 vibes… “ I love the way the mall smells , like new shoes and cookies baking and pizza hot out of the oven” I literally smelled this as I read it! The references off Pee Wees playhouse and shark attack…
I rated this book based on the amount of joy it brought me… 4.5⭐️
Through an adult lens… if I was Stacey’s Auntie, Mrs. G and I would have words…. That is all……
I rated this book based on the amount of joy it brought me… 4.5⭐️
Through an adult lens… if I was Stacey’s Auntie, Mrs. G and I would have words…. That is all……
June 27, 2020
I'm not sure how to rate this? I love it and don't like it? I know I'm not the target audience and this book/series is pretty old, but I feel like younger kids could still really enjoy it.
February 22, 2025
wow, 5* book for sure. little problematic in the character descriptions, but had me on the edge of my seat!!
March 5, 2023
A nostalgic read.
August 29, 2024
Okay, pretty good for the mystery line but literally the way that Stacey was accused was bogus. Then the attempt to sabotage the business by Ms. G just for the ring to be found in the home was nuts. The ending was too quick; ring found, apology given, move on. Doesn’t seem right….
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 18, 2024
I don't wike when Claudia and Stacey fight
December 17, 2016
It's the first mystery of the Mystery Series! I remember being insanely, ridiculously excited about this new series when it first came out when I was about eight, just after I first discovered the BSC books.
Things I remember from reading this as a kid:
I actually remember this book pretty clearly. I remember the new client's obsession with their animals, and the ring that goes missing, and so forth. As a kid I was blown away by the ending -- the cat is the one who hid the ring! It actually inspired me to search out the hiding places of all our cats to see if any missing items were squirreled away. Unfortunately, I didn't find any diamond rings.
I learned the word "reputation" from reading this book.
Kristy is on the cover of this book, right in the front, with Stacey and baby Tara in the background. Since I wasn't too familiar with all the baby sitters yet I thought Stacey must be the one right in the foreground, making me picture Stacey with brown hair for months until I realized that Stacey is actually way off in the background of this cover.
I remember Claudia going through Stacey's jewelry in a sneaky way, checking to see if she had the ring, and making a big deal about how much money she wasn't making because no one was getting any baby sitting jobs. Because this was one of the first BSC books I read, I hadn't quite fallen in love with Claudia the way I would do later. I thought she was a total bratty mean girl -- especially because the book doesn't go into detail about her apology to Stacey. As a kid I remember thinking that she didn't act like she was that sorry.
Things I've considered since reading this as an adult:
I must be getting old, because when I was a kid I thought Stacey was nuts for having fun cleaning the house, but as an adult I understand what she means. It's worth the effort you put in to have a clean house, especially if you listen to music or audiobooks while you're doing it.
Stacey's mother is reminded of her sweet sixteen birthday because "Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison comes on the radio, and she remembers how she had the biggest, and best sweet sixteen. I love to imagine Stacey's mother as a debutante for an old, wealthy New York City family, partying in the last flush of 1960s high society with Truman Capote and Babe Paley. It's especially fun to think about because while she is showing Stacey the pictures of her extravagant party Stacey says she would like a birthstone ring, which means getting a diamond ring since she was presumably born in April. And Stacey's mother completely freaks out -- first about the idea of a thirteen year old wearing a diamond ring, and then about the cost of the ring. She must have fallen far from her genteel roots. However, diamond rings are thousands of dollars, even for the so-called cheap ones. And they are mined very unethically in Africa. I'm glad she refuses to consider buying the ring for Stacey. Stacey then acts like a spoiled brat and says her dad will buy it for her. If that statement makes me want to smack her for being an ungrateful, spoiled, princess then I can't imagine what her mother must think. Of course at the end of the book she does cave in, and agree to help Mr McGill buy it for Stacey's birthday Later Stacey wishes the BSC would come to her defense and tell her that she "deserves" such a ridiculously expensive piece of jewelry, but they don't, and good for them. Not one single person in the world "deserves" a diamond. Stacey's thoughts on this are that she wishes Claudia would tell her that her mother's a "meanie" for refusing to buy the ring. I cannot, for the life of me, picture Claudia calling anyone a meanie because she is not four years old, and she has more class than that. The worst she would say is that Stacey's mother is really "stale." I'm actually horrified that Stacey uses the word "meanie." I have never used that word in my life, and I'm not the one who goes around bragging that my life in New York City made me so much more sophisticated than my other friends.
Stacey makes a big deal about the mall, which is hilarious to read now because no one cares about going to the mall anymore. (I kept picturing Robin Sparkles in her jean jacket, singing "Let's go to the mall. . . today!") She describes the fountain at the mall (which sprays pink water, oh my!) as being "one of the cool places to hang out." I remember when people used to think this way. It was also a blast from the past to read about Stacey and her mother going to a video rental place. They spend forever trying to find something to watch together. I remember making long lists of stuff to look for at the video rental place, because anything you really wanted to watch they would inevitably be out of when you showed up.
I don't quite understand why Mrs Gardella refuses to believe that Stacey didn't take the ring. If I lost a ring I would first assume that I had misplaced it myself. As Jessi realizes later in the book, there are a LOT of small places a ring might roll off to. Mrs Gardella even says later in the book that she's lost a lot of little items because Mouse the cat has taken them, and hidden them. I also might think my teenage baby sitter who I had never met before might have taken my ring. But then I would have thought things like well, my baby seemed fine, my beloved pets didn't seem traumatized, the rest of the house is in good order, with nothing else of value missing, not even the cash I keep in my nightstand or whatever, and I have never heard of anyone else in this town having trouble with this baby sitting organization. I probably would still have called the McGills to see if Stacey had noticed anything odd, but if her mother had said, and if Stacey had said that she didn't take the ring I probably would have believed her. I would certainly not get on the phone with everyone in town, and spread an unfounded rumor. You can get sued for that. But also, this is something that might happen when you hire a thirteen year old you don't know at all to watch your baby. Just saying, this is why you shouldn't trust strangers to watch your kids.
Stacey offers to pay off the ring by baby sitting for free, which may be the only thing she can do under the circumstances. But if the Gardellas have a full-time nanny then I don't understand how Stacey could possibly baby sit for them enough to pay off the ring. Also, Mrs Gardella very clearly does not trust Stacey, and therefore (understandably) doesn't want her in the house alone. So Kristy agrees to go over also. So Kristy is agreeing to baby sit for free also? Is her salary also going to the cost of the ring? Also, I do not understand why Mrs Gardella is fine leaving her young baby and her cherished pets alone with a girl who she thinks stole a valuable ring from her. If you think of someone as a thief (and I guess in this case, a liar), wouldn't you also be afraid that they may neglect your child and pets?
Things I remember from reading this as a kid:
I actually remember this book pretty clearly. I remember the new client's obsession with their animals, and the ring that goes missing, and so forth. As a kid I was blown away by the ending -- the cat is the one who hid the ring! It actually inspired me to search out the hiding places of all our cats to see if any missing items were squirreled away. Unfortunately, I didn't find any diamond rings.
I learned the word "reputation" from reading this book.
Kristy is on the cover of this book, right in the front, with Stacey and baby Tara in the background. Since I wasn't too familiar with all the baby sitters yet I thought Stacey must be the one right in the foreground, making me picture Stacey with brown hair for months until I realized that Stacey is actually way off in the background of this cover.
I remember Claudia going through Stacey's jewelry in a sneaky way, checking to see if she had the ring, and making a big deal about how much money she wasn't making because no one was getting any baby sitting jobs. Because this was one of the first BSC books I read, I hadn't quite fallen in love with Claudia the way I would do later. I thought she was a total bratty mean girl -- especially because the book doesn't go into detail about her apology to Stacey. As a kid I remember thinking that she didn't act like she was that sorry.
Things I've considered since reading this as an adult:
I must be getting old, because when I was a kid I thought Stacey was nuts for having fun cleaning the house, but as an adult I understand what she means. It's worth the effort you put in to have a clean house, especially if you listen to music or audiobooks while you're doing it.
Stacey's mother is reminded of her sweet sixteen birthday because "Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison comes on the radio, and she remembers how she had the biggest, and best sweet sixteen. I love to imagine Stacey's mother as a debutante for an old, wealthy New York City family, partying in the last flush of 1960s high society with Truman Capote and Babe Paley. It's especially fun to think about because while she is showing Stacey the pictures of her extravagant party Stacey says she would like a birthstone ring, which means getting a diamond ring since she was presumably born in April. And Stacey's mother completely freaks out -- first about the idea of a thirteen year old wearing a diamond ring, and then about the cost of the ring. She must have fallen far from her genteel roots. However, diamond rings are thousands of dollars, even for the so-called cheap ones. And they are mined very unethically in Africa. I'm glad she refuses to consider buying the ring for Stacey. Stacey then acts like a spoiled brat and says her dad will buy it for her. If that statement makes me want to smack her for being an ungrateful, spoiled, princess then I can't imagine what her mother must think. Of course at the end of the book she does cave in, and agree to help Mr McGill buy it for Stacey's birthday Later Stacey wishes the BSC would come to her defense and tell her that she "deserves" such a ridiculously expensive piece of jewelry, but they don't, and good for them. Not one single person in the world "deserves" a diamond. Stacey's thoughts on this are that she wishes Claudia would tell her that her mother's a "meanie" for refusing to buy the ring. I cannot, for the life of me, picture Claudia calling anyone a meanie because she is not four years old, and she has more class than that. The worst she would say is that Stacey's mother is really "stale." I'm actually horrified that Stacey uses the word "meanie." I have never used that word in my life, and I'm not the one who goes around bragging that my life in New York City made me so much more sophisticated than my other friends.
Stacey makes a big deal about the mall, which is hilarious to read now because no one cares about going to the mall anymore. (I kept picturing Robin Sparkles in her jean jacket, singing "Let's go to the mall. . . today!") She describes the fountain at the mall (which sprays pink water, oh my!) as being "one of the cool places to hang out." I remember when people used to think this way. It was also a blast from the past to read about Stacey and her mother going to a video rental place. They spend forever trying to find something to watch together. I remember making long lists of stuff to look for at the video rental place, because anything you really wanted to watch they would inevitably be out of when you showed up.
I don't quite understand why Mrs Gardella refuses to believe that Stacey didn't take the ring. If I lost a ring I would first assume that I had misplaced it myself. As Jessi realizes later in the book, there are a LOT of small places a ring might roll off to. Mrs Gardella even says later in the book that she's lost a lot of little items because Mouse the cat has taken them, and hidden them. I also might think my teenage baby sitter who I had never met before might have taken my ring. But then I would have thought things like well, my baby seemed fine, my beloved pets didn't seem traumatized, the rest of the house is in good order, with nothing else of value missing, not even the cash I keep in my nightstand or whatever, and I have never heard of anyone else in this town having trouble with this baby sitting organization. I probably would still have called the McGills to see if Stacey had noticed anything odd, but if her mother had said, and if Stacey had said that she didn't take the ring I probably would have believed her. I would certainly not get on the phone with everyone in town, and spread an unfounded rumor. You can get sued for that. But also, this is something that might happen when you hire a thirteen year old you don't know at all to watch your baby. Just saying, this is why you shouldn't trust strangers to watch your kids.
Stacey offers to pay off the ring by baby sitting for free, which may be the only thing she can do under the circumstances. But if the Gardellas have a full-time nanny then I don't understand how Stacey could possibly baby sit for them enough to pay off the ring. Also, Mrs Gardella very clearly does not trust Stacey, and therefore (understandably) doesn't want her in the house alone. So Kristy agrees to go over also. So Kristy is agreeing to baby sit for free also? Is her salary also going to the cost of the ring? Also, I do not understand why Mrs Gardella is fine leaving her young baby and her cherished pets alone with a girl who she thinks stole a valuable ring from her. If you think of someone as a thief (and I guess in this case, a liar), wouldn't you also be afraid that they may neglect your child and pets?
December 29, 2020
Stacey is babysitting for a new family, and this family just so happens to have a ton of money.
While on her first babysitting job over there, something comes up missing. An expensive DIAMOND RING!
With no other explanation of what could have happened to it, of course poor Stacey is blamed. It doesn’t help that just a few days ago she was begging her mom to buy her one.
Stacey may be spoiled and have fancy tastes, but that doesn’t mean that she is a liar and a thief. She swears up and down that she didn’t take it.
I enjoy all of these books, this one was no different. I always get such nostalgia reading what the girls are up to. Now for my pros and cons
Pros:
- I always love the era and small town feel these books being
- I’m glad that Stacey’s mom stuck up for her daughter from the very minute the accusation was spoken , she didn’t even have to ask, she just knew.
- I’m glad the girls (well mostly all the girls) also believed in Stacey’s innocence and didn’t try and make her confess to something she didn’t do
- I love how regular clients (parents of kids they babysit) also didn’t fall for the lies and stuck of for Stacey
Cons:
- Not realistic for you to think a child stole something so expensive and valuable , only to hire them again a few days later. No matter the reason
- Claudia is a crappy best friend for not believing her best friend was innocent even when everyone else believed her.
- Kind of mad that at the end of all of this, Stacey is still going to end up getting a diamond ring...I thought we wanted to keep kids young and maybe get her something more affordable.
All in all I can’t wait to keep reading more of these books!
While on her first babysitting job over there, something comes up missing. An expensive DIAMOND RING!
With no other explanation of what could have happened to it, of course poor Stacey is blamed. It doesn’t help that just a few days ago she was begging her mom to buy her one.
Stacey may be spoiled and have fancy tastes, but that doesn’t mean that she is a liar and a thief. She swears up and down that she didn’t take it.
I enjoy all of these books, this one was no different. I always get such nostalgia reading what the girls are up to. Now for my pros and cons
Pros:
- I always love the era and small town feel these books being
- I’m glad that Stacey’s mom stuck up for her daughter from the very minute the accusation was spoken , she didn’t even have to ask, she just knew.
- I’m glad the girls (well mostly all the girls) also believed in Stacey’s innocence and didn’t try and make her confess to something she didn’t do
- I love how regular clients (parents of kids they babysit) also didn’t fall for the lies and stuck of for Stacey
Cons:
- Not realistic for you to think a child stole something so expensive and valuable , only to hire them again a few days later. No matter the reason
- Claudia is a crappy best friend for not believing her best friend was innocent even when everyone else believed her.
- Kind of mad that at the end of all of this, Stacey is still going to end up getting a diamond ring...I thought we wanted to keep kids young and maybe get her something more affordable.
All in all I can’t wait to keep reading more of these books!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 5, 2019
I really like the start of the Baby-sitters Club Mystery series, the mysteries deal less with the supernatural, or things that adults (or the police!) should be taking care of, and more with actual baby-sitting mysteries like helping look for a missing child or mysterious messages. (Not to say that I don't also enjoy the over-the-top ones, just for different reasons lol.) As noted in Logan's review of this book, Stacey and the Missing Ring feels like it could fit in the main series of books. But this mystery is very real, feels like it has very real consequences for the Club, and has a very believable story and conclusion. (Though I felt like it was wrapped up pretty quickly, one sitting job and it was resolved.) All in all, a good start to the series, and a good BSC book altogether.
September 22, 2017
The ending to this book still perplexes me.
But, I love the mystery spin-off series and am so excited to start re-reading all of these again!
But, I love the mystery spin-off series and am so excited to start re-reading all of these again!
April 8, 2022
آن ام. مارتین (۱۲ اوت ۱۹۵۵) نویسنده کتابهای کودکان است. مجموعه باشگاه پرستاران بچه از آثار معروف اوست. او در پرینستون آمریکا متولد شدهاست و مادرش معلم کودکستان و پدرش کارتونیست بود. مارتین از سنین پایین حتی قبل از اینکه خواندن و نوشتن را یاد بگیرد به نوشتن علاقه نشان داد. او داستانهایش را تعریف میکرد و مادرش آنها را مینوشت. از نویسندگان مورد علاقهاش میتوان به لوئیس کارول، پی. ال. تراورس، هیو لافتینگ، آسترید لیندگرن و رولد دال اشاره کرد.
کتاب انگشتر گمشده اولین سری از مجموعه کتابهای کانون پرستاران بچه به شمار میرود و به طور غیرمستقیم به نوجوانان مفاهیم مهمی نظیر مسئولیت پذیری، حفظ آبرو، تفکر صحیح، مشورت و تصمیمگیری مناسب را یادآوری میکند.
ایده این مجموعه توسط ژان فیول ویراستار به مارتین گفته شد. در ابتدا بهعنوان یک مجموعه چهار جلدی برنامهریزی شده بود، اما پس از موفقیت متوسط چهار رمان اول، ناشر دو رمان دیگر را سفارش داد و به دنبال آن دوازده رمان دیگر با افزایش محبوبیت این مجموعه، سفارش داد. تا زمان انتشار رمان ششم، چاپ اول به ۱۰۰۰۰۰ نسخه رسید.
داستان از جایی آغاز میشود که یک انگشتر الماس گران قیمت در یک خانه که استیسی برای نگهداری کودکشان رفته بود، گم میشود و همه گمان میکنند که استیسی آن را دزدیده است؛ چرا که روز قبل از دزدی، او به مادر و پدرش گفته بود که برایش یک انگشتر الماس بخرند اما والدینش اعتقاد داشتند که جواهری به این ارزشمندی برای یک نوجوان سیزده ساله مناسب نیست. سرانجام پس از این اتفاق مشکوک همه به استیسی اتهام میزنند درصورتیکه او هیچ کاری نکرده و از این موضوع بسیار شوک شده است. به همین خاطر تصمیم میگیرد هر طور که شده راز این دزدی عجیب را کشف کند.
این کتاب در ۱۳۸ صفحه به چاپ رسید و برای گروه سنی ۱۲+ سال مناسب است.
کتاب انگشتر گمشده اولین سری از مجموعه کتابهای کانون پرستاران بچه به شمار میرود و به طور غیرمستقیم به نوجوانان مفاهیم مهمی نظیر مسئولیت پذیری، حفظ آبرو، تفکر صحیح، مشورت و تصمیمگیری مناسب را یادآوری میکند.
ایده این مجموعه توسط ژان فیول ویراستار به مارتین گفته شد. در ابتدا بهعنوان یک مجموعه چهار جلدی برنامهریزی شده بود، اما پس از موفقیت متوسط چهار رمان اول، ناشر دو رمان دیگر را سفارش داد و به دنبال آن دوازده رمان دیگر با افزایش محبوبیت این مجموعه، سفارش داد. تا زمان انتشار رمان ششم، چاپ اول به ۱۰۰۰۰۰ نسخه رسید.
داستان از جایی آغاز میشود که یک انگشتر الماس گران قیمت در یک خانه که استیسی برای نگهداری کودکشان رفته بود، گم میشود و همه گمان میکنند که استیسی آن را دزدیده است؛ چرا که روز قبل از دزدی، او به مادر و پدرش گفته بود که برایش یک انگشتر الماس بخرند اما والدینش اعتقاد داشتند که جواهری به این ارزشمندی برای یک نوجوان سیزده ساله مناسب نیست. سرانجام پس از این اتفاق مشکوک همه به استیسی اتهام میزنند درصورتیکه او هیچ کاری نکرده و از این موضوع بسیار شوک شده است. به همین خاطر تصمیم میگیرد هر طور که شده راز این دزدی عجیب را کشف کند.
این کتاب در ۱۳۸ صفحه به چاپ رسید و برای گروه سنی ۱۲+ سال مناسب است.
December 13, 2025
Not my favorite - kindof a dumb plot - makes Stacey sortof seem ....stupid, which she's not. She babysits for new people who have a baby, a dog and a cat. They are super weird - treat their animals more like people. They accuse Stacey of stealing a diamond ring from them (or accidentally borrowing). They mention it to another client, who quickly defend the girls. But they aren't getting much business so they think it's because of the ring - when in reality just a lot of people were out of town. Stacey decides to offer her babysitting services to them for free as an olive branch, not admitting guilt. They accept - not necessarily believing that she didn't take it - but they want a second sitter with her (lame). Kristy comes too and they figure out that the cat hides things and had taken the ring. When they tell the owners, they are like - oh yeah, we know she does that.
December 10, 2019
This book is about a girl who called Stacey. She belongs to the baby sitters club, and one day she sit rich woman’s baby. After that, the woman called Stacey that her expensive diamond ring was gone. She thought Stacey stole the ring. But, at the end of this book, Stacey found that the ring was hidden by the woman’s cat. So the woman apologized to Stacey.
This book is good for children and students who study English. This is adequate to learn new vocabularies and grammar. However , the story is a little boring.
Also, there are many characters. So sometimes I was confused. Except for the story, this is the best book!!
This book is good for children and students who study English. This is adequate to learn new vocabularies and grammar. However , the story is a little boring.
Also, there are many characters. So sometimes I was confused. Except for the story, this is the best book!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2020
4 stars. I love the Mystery series. Besides the main series, these books were always some of my favorite. This was fun and yet frustrating. I didn’t like the people trying to bring down the BSC because of accusations and also Claudia not trusting that Stacey didn’t take the ring felt wrong to me. It felt a bit OOC the way she handled things. But, of course everything wrapped up nicely in the end and it was a fun read. I cannot wait to get to the next one as I’ve always felt that Dawn got the best mystery books out of the whole crew.
February 5, 2024
We've arrived at the mysteries! I am so excited for this because these were always my favorites but I don't think I've read this before. It's making me wonder how the decision to create a spinoff mystery series came about because this could have very easily been a regular series book - it's not very mysterious and the BSC don't do much investigation. The conflict is mainly on the club's worries about losing business and Stacey's guilt about feeling responsible for this.
I enjoyed it, though particularly the way Stacey is supported by Kristy and her mother. No real B-plot to speak of.
I enjoyed it, though particularly the way Stacey is supported by Kristy and her mother. No real B-plot to speak of.
September 26, 2025
I’m not a fan of mysteries in general so I was dreading this (because I am trying to read all the BSC books), but it wasn’t so bad. Kind of lame because it was pretty obvious what had happened. I think it was risky going to the house and have the girls “find the ring” because they could have been accused of planting it. Though I do like that the pets are so well loved.
Also random observation but I LOVED the mall nostalgia. They have to park so far away that Kristy says “I can barely see Sears!”
Also random observation but I LOVED the mall nostalgia. They have to park so far away that Kristy says “I can barely see Sears!”
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July 29, 2020As a kid my best friends sister had the whole BSC series on a book shelf in her room. I thought she was so grown up. And I envied this bookshelf. And would often poke my head into that room just to look at it.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.
December 11, 2022
I know I read and owned this book as a kid, but I remembered nothing about it. While barely a mystery, I did like the story- it's solid BSC fare, with lots of babysitting stories, a best friend skirmish between Stacey and Claudia, the club having to band together to overcome a problem, and some parental arguing- all the things that made me love and relate to these books so much as a kid. 3 stars, not 4, because the mystery was ridiculous.
May 14, 2023
There's a lot going on here around class and care work. Wealthy couple would sooner assume hired care worker stole expensive item than look for it in their house. Class prejudice informs view of hired care workers as poor, and poor people seizing any opportunity to take what rightfully belongs to the wealthy. Couple also feels compelled to destroy care worker's livelihood (good reputation) based on the assumption of theft. Class prejudice also visible in couple's unwillingness to trust any of care worker's associates, construing them all equally untrustworthy by association. And willing to destroy reputation and livelihood of entire club. The wealthy assume responsibilities of punitive denunciatory state by denouncing the club to the community on presumption of guilt. Family pets who are known to hide things come under less suspicion than (presumed) less-socioeconomically-advantaged teenager.
Also, do these books advance a wages-for-housework ideology? Once BSC is formed, parents pay their own children to sit for their siblings, when it is not clear that BSC members (or siblings like Sam and Charlie) were getting paid for babysitting their family members before.
Also, do these books advance a wages-for-housework ideology? Once BSC is formed, parents pay their own children to sit for their siblings, when it is not clear that BSC members (or siblings like Sam and Charlie) were getting paid for babysitting their family members before.
August 21, 2025
How many years until I finish this series? Make your bets now. 😂
I’m actually not sure if I ever read this one before. It didn’t seem familiar. The cover totally did though. I feel like I would’ve. This came out when I was in 7th grade and starting to feel too cool for BSC… but obviously a new spinoff series would’ve piqued my interest. It’s possible I read it and just forgot about it.
Anyway, this was a cute little mystery that somehow I didn’t guess the ending of. Hoorah.
I’m actually not sure if I ever read this one before. It didn’t seem familiar. The cover totally did though. I feel like I would’ve. This came out when I was in 7th grade and starting to feel too cool for BSC… but obviously a new spinoff series would’ve piqued my interest. It’s possible I read it and just forgot about it.
Anyway, this was a cute little mystery that somehow I didn’t guess the ending of. Hoorah.
October 31, 2017
At some point someone at Scholastic decided to take the convoluted "mystery" plots from the regular books and launch them into their own series. Some of them are sort of fun, but this is not one of them. Really this one is just mildly rage inducing, in which a foofy weird lady accuses a teenager of stealing her diamond ring without proof.
Spoiler alert: Stacey didn't steal the ring.
Spoiler alert: Stacey didn't steal the ring.
March 3, 2022
Stacey And The Missing Ring - Book #1 in Baby-Sitters Club Mystery Series by Ann M. Martin
I love this book - It is so good. I highly recommend this book. You be surprise how the Ring came up missing.
I got this book through Evergreen Library Website and the book was delivered to my local library. It is a hard back edition.
I give this Book 5/5 Stars
Happy Reading
I love this book - It is so good. I highly recommend this book. You be surprise how the Ring came up missing.
I got this book through Evergreen Library Website and the book was delivered to my local library. It is a hard back edition.
I give this Book 5/5 Stars
Happy Reading
May 19, 2017
Nostalgia read! I loved the Babysitters Club books when I was in primary school, and this was one I hadn't read before. It's not really a mystery, but it's typical babysitters fare - fun stories about friendship and babysitting!
January 13, 2020
It's a Stacey book but there wasn't much Stacey stuff happening. Also, a fairly predictable storyline...although Stacey's solution wasn't predictable. It was borderline insane. But, still. Claudia also acts like she's from Mars. Jessi's section was the most enjoyable part of the book. Sorry, Stace.
November 5, 2020
Stacey has been given the chance to babysit for a new family only this new family isn’t what it seems. When Stacey is accused of stealing an expensive ring, she does everything in her power to prover her innocence only it’s not just her that is effected, but the rest of the girls in the club.
December 30, 2020
(LL)
This was okay. Highly predictable, and again they make adults act like children to further the plot. Stacey sounded like a brat for not understanding why her parents wouldn’t buy her a diamond ring. Decent mystery for the target audience, but not many lessons in this one that haven’t been told before.
This was okay. Highly predictable, and again they make adults act like children to further the plot. Stacey sounded like a brat for not understanding why her parents wouldn’t buy her a diamond ring. Decent mystery for the target audience, but not many lessons in this one that haven’t been told before.
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